My Worst Hire & What I Learned from it!

“We hired a salesperson who was great in the interview but couldn’t sell our product if his life depending on it!” We have heard so many versions of this statement over the years that we decided to pass on some of these stories to our blog readers so you can learn from our clients hiring mistakes.

Hiring managers are reluctant to be open and tell others of their costly hiring disasters until they find out that they are not alone in making these mistakes. When hiring teams realize that the mistakes they made are common and can be avoided they become more relaxed and open to talk about their hiring blunders.

It is never easy to put a dollar figure on a hiring mistake and this task can become more difficult depending on the position the candidate was hired into. If the role was a traditional sales role then the equation for evaluating the mistake can be as simple as looking at the opportunity cost of the new sales person not achieving their sales numbers in a quarter or year. You expected the salesperson to achieve $1,000,000 of revenue and they came in at year end with 60% of quota. The team knows the minimum cost of the hiring mistake is $400,000 in lost revenue. The difficult calculations of the hiring mistake is when the role is in operations or other non-revenue generating positions. Hard cost can be easy to calculate (recruitment fees, salaried paid, training costs…..) but the soft cost like lost morale within the team or loss of confidence in management due to too many hiring mistakes can be very difficult to evaluate.

Bottom line is that all hiring managers make hiring mistakes and it costs the organizations millions over the years. “My Worst Hire and What I Learned from it” postings will bring light to others hiring mistakes and hopefully you will take away some learning points to assist you and your hiring team in hiring more productive and profitable new employees.

Keep coming back to our blog and read stories that will shock you, make you laugh and hopefully allow you to be a much more productive hiring manager in future interviews.

Craig Bissett is the President of Hire Results Ltd – the developer of the Hiring Simulation Assessment process that allows hiring managers and teams to TEST DRIVE candidates before making hiring decisions.

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Craig Bissett is the President of Hire Results Ltd – the developers of the Hiring Simulation Assessment process. Allowing hiring teams to Test Drive candidates before they are hired.
Craig has been actively involved in the Human Capital marketplace since 1986. He has had roles as a General Manager and Partner with progressive Human Capital firms.
In 2002 Craig left his partnership to start Hire Results Ltd. Since then the company has worked with organizations throughout North America through its innovative Hiring Simulation Assessment process.
As the founder of Hire Results Ltd., I welcome the opportunity to assist and impact your organization through our Hiring Simulation Assessment process.

Hire Results helps organizations manage the risk when making a hiring decision. We are committed to assisting our clients in experiencing candidates in real life business settings before making a costly hiring decision. We value the deep relationships we have built with our clients. The Hiring Simulation Assessment process is owned and operated under the Hire Results Ltd organization.

Hire Results Ltd. specializes in Human Capital Assessment and Hiring, and is committed to reshaping the way organizations select key performers. .